VINTAGE - Guerlain Gardenia Extrait - Pure Parfum

This is for Vintage Guerlain Gardenia Pure Parfum Extract - in one of the oldest style Guerlain Apothecary bottles - which dates to 1828 when Guerlain also introduced Extracts of Vetiver, patchouli, Roses & Frangipani - Created by Pierre-Francois Pascal Guerlain - Long discontinued, this is the original vintage extrait (pure parfum). For Gardenia Lovers Everywhere

While there are no notes listed for this fragrance on Fragrantica or Basenotes, I did find a possible listing of notes which included top notes of orange blossom, neroli and bergamot; middle notes of gardenia, jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang and lilac; and base notes of vanilla, musk, sandalwood and civet. 

Theperfumedcourt - 5 Stars - By Molly on 4/10/2025 - "Love this. Smells very similar to 60s EDT Shalimar, but with a higher proportion of naturals. In WWII bottles I've found that it can go a bit radish-y with degraded ylang ylang and gardenia, but that's not the case here. The top notes have faded slightly, but the base. Omg. The base. I keep coming back to it. People say Guerlains always have the same base, but there's something unique in this one. Maybe more vanilla and orris."

A Bit of Guerlain History

The House of Guerlain is one of the oldest perfume houses in the world. It was founded in 1828 by Pierre-Francois Pascal Guerlain. Pierre-Francois composed and manufactured custom perfumes with the help of his two sons, Aime & Gabriel. Guerlain catered to the high society of Paris and had a very loyal following. The perfume house was so successful that in 1840 Guerlain decided to open a flagship store at 15, Rue de la Paix. The house was at its peak in 1853 with its fragrance Eau de Cologne Imperiale which gave Guerlain the prestigious title of His Majesty's Official Perfumer of France.  

Pierre-Francois died in 1854 and his sons took over the perfume house. Aime became the master perfumer and Gabriel managed and expanded the house. Aime created several fragrances including Fleur d'Italie, Rococo, Eau de Cologne de Coq and his greatest creation, Jicky. In 1914, Guerlain moved to 68, Champs-Elysees. 

The business was then handed down to Gabriel's sons, Jacques & Pierre. Jacques became the third master perfumer and created many fragrances during his time at Guerlain including Apres L'Ondee, Shalimar, Vol de Nuit, Mitsouko, L'Heure Bleue, Eau du Coq and Ode. A number of these fragrances are still available today. Jacques' grandson Jean-Paul became the fourth master perfumer and among his creations were Vetiver, Habit Rouge, Samsara, Nahema and Jardins de Bagatelle.